William Talbot
|Row 2 title = Birth: |Row 2 info = Duskhaven, Gilneas ---- |Row 3 title = Titles: |Row 3 info = None |Row 4 title = Occupation: |Row 4 info = Druid ---- |Row 5 title = Faction: |Row 5 info = |Row 6 title = Affiliations: |Row 6 info = ---- |Row 7 title = Relatives: |Row 7 info = Selena Talbot nee Morrigan - Wife (Deceased) Daniel Talbot - Son (Deceased) ---- |Row 8 title= Status: |Row 8 info = }}Will is an active Gilnean Druid based north of Old Bay in the Ruins of Gilneas. Born in Duskhaven just before the First War, the druid was an average farm boy who lived on his parent's small farm just on the outside of the village. No stranger to hard work, the boy was well known in the town's community of farmers for having quiet the exceptionally green thumb and being a hard worker with fantastic work ethic, but being quite the loner. Gifted a plot of land, the man would soon lose most of what he owned due to the Cataclysm and would soon find himself infected by the curse that ravaged through the countryside by the sudden appearance of the Worgen through the shattered wall. Having lost much like most other Gilneans, WIlliam soon succumbed to the curse for many months until he was captured and treated, regaining his humanity. Electing to leave Gilneas for the time being as a refugee, the Gilnean found himself in Darnassus, where he would eventually work his way into the Cenarion Circle. Afterwords, the Gilnean would grow in his druidism, and eventually decide to return to Gilneas. He now resides north of Old Bay within the woods, living off the land like his father and his ancestors before him. Description William is a man of average height, standing about 5'8 in human form and about 8'7 in his Worgen form. His build is muscular with a bit of fat, a product of a life filled with physical labor and constant lifting of heavy objects found on farmland and barn and good, hearty meals. His hands are scarred and calloused from decades of hard work, and his face is long, tanned and rugged, with decades of life experience on his skin and decades of survival in the wild within his steely, gray blue eyes. A mole lies just a few millimeters from the outer corner of his eye, giving him a distinctive feature. Upon his head a full, thick head of light brown hair rests, somewhere between short and medium for a male. It is usually glistening with some sort of homemade oil that smells of pine and sandalwood, and devoid of any tangles or matted hair. Upon his cleft, chiseled chin usually lies stubble to a light growth of facial hair, more so a light growth than not. His nose is small but strong and his lips slightly thin but still present. Usually the man carries an expression one would find on someone who's focused or on a mission, sharp and attentive to his path and observant of his surroundings. Overall, the man is of average appearance, not overtly attractive or handsome, but rugged and masculine. Likewise, his worgen form is covered with a thick, light brown coat. As it spreads towards his snout, inner chest and inner thighs, it lightens to a darker, dirty blonde, giving him exceptional camouflage within the woods as a worgen. His eyes are a piercing steel blue, much like that of a hawk or an eagle. They are sharp and ever watching, and his chocolate colored nose is strong and always sniffing the air for new scents and prey. His muscles, earned through manual labor, grow substantially in this form, granting him the increased strength, speed and agility needed to be an apex predator. Will is often found in this form more so than his human one, due to his close connection with the Emerald Dream, he finds it difficult to switch back into his human form, only electing to do so when approaching human settlements. Personality William is your classic introvert, preferring to listen more so than speak. While he is not fully against social interaction, the man has a limited battery for it and generally prefers to be alone with the beasts and birds of the woods, focusing on his farm and his druidism. He can be shy, distant and detached if he ever finds himself in large groups, and will need to be engaged on a one on one basis for another to get much of a word from him. He generally dislikes people dropping by his home or land uninvited and finds himself uncomfortable when put on the spot or forced to speak in front of large groups. William generally prefers to remain out in the woods, staying away from larger cities and towns unless he needs supplies or services he cannot find in nature or in the smaller villages. He doesn't have many friends due to his isolation, but is a friendly, polite person when spoken to by strangers or acquaintances. At times he will joke and say things that he finds funny but due to his lack of social skills and obliviousness when it comes to others, they may come off as strange or unfunny. He usually speaks in a monotone voice with little to no inflection, unless his words are backed by emotions. Will is slow to anger and quick to forgive, and doesn't take words or criticism to heart. He has a difficult time dealing with personal insults or attacks, but tries his best to shake them off until he's had enough and reaches his breaking point. He is trustworthy and is blunt and honest, sometimes to a fault, but you can almost always count on Will to tell you the truth. He does have a difficult time expressing his own feelings and thoughts at times, and this may create a wall between him and those he calls friends. Along with this, William has a difficult time letting go of control, and may become stressed out if the situation arises where he cannot control the outcome of an event. When angry, the man can become impulsive and quick to react to stimuli and sometimes may make foolish decisions, sometimes losing himself to the beast within. Origins Born in Duskhaven to parents who owned a medium sized farm on the outskirts of the town, William always had a knack for farming and hard, manual labor. Starting work as a farmhand for his father at the age of 12, the boy soon grew a reputation as someone with a major green thumb. Able to grow crops in the driest of soils, Will soon found himself in no short supply of extra work to be done at the other, closer farms. Somewhat picked on by some of the children at the small public school in Duskhaven for being quiet and not having many friends, the boy still managed to shine in both his academics and physical activity due to his long background of heavy, physical labor and his subtle intelligence. Growing up, the boy's family was met with a common tragedy, the death of his grandmother due to old age, who had possession of several acres of farmland. When William came of age, his father relinquished control of William's inheritance, a small tract of farmland. Having left his parents house at the age of 18, the young man began his work growing and building his own farm. Several years went by and William's farm grew under his tutelage, becoming quite successful. Realizing he had a gift, the man was reminded of the harvest-witches after a short conversation at the locale tavern with a fellow farmer and soon sought out a local witch who lived deep within the woods near Duskhaven. Grabbing his hunting rifle, the man set foot to find her home. Trekking several miles into the woods, Will soon found what he was looking for, but was met with disappointment. The harvest-witch had passed away just a few moons ago due to old age, but much to Will's luck, her daughter had taken her place but refused to aid him. Deciding to do what he could to convince her to aid him, the farmer came every few days at the same time bearing gifts, a basket of his best crops here and game there. Eventually, impressed by William's determination to explore his gift further, the young harvest-witch relented and agreed to teach Will what her mother had taught her. As the years went by, William and the harvest-witch-within-the woods grew close and fell in love, and decided to marry, and soon had a son. The family lived together for years until the Cataclysm came, and with it, the destruction of Gilneas and the Forsaken Invasion. During their exodus from Gilneas, William, his family and other refugees were attacked by worgen on their way to the capital and soon the family man succumbed to the worgen curse and lost his mind. Eventually finding his way to be "cured", William found himself regaining his humanity and with the loss of his home and his family, he left his homeland to be as a refugee within the lands of the Kaldorei, where he found his way into the Cenarion Circle thanks to a wizened Kaldorei Druid to further hone his gift. Several years after the Cataclysm, William has returned to the Ruins of Gilneas, deciding to rebuild his home deep within the woods north of Old Bay as a way of honoring his "late wife." A New Friend While out hunting one day, the Worgen returned to his cottage to find that it had been broken into. Leaving his kill just outside his cottage, the Worgen encountered a young, human female who grew terrified at his appearance. Talbot attempted to reason with Lillian, however she was scared beyond rational thought and was startled by the thunder outside, causing her to accidentally pull the trigger. Talbot's quick reflexes saved him, shapeshifting into a bear with iron fur before returning to a worgen form and seizing Lillian's weapon. He eventually determined it best to turn back to his human form, giving Lillian the comfort she needed to finally regain her senses. Despite her intrusion and shooting him, Talbot fed Lillian a portion of the stag he had recently hunted, allowing her shelter to skin her recent kill and permitting her to rest within the cottage. A Chance Meeting While out on a hunt once again, the Worgen met his newfound friend Lillian out in the many ruins of Gilneas. After speaking with her and her friends for some time, the worgen offered to join her in her scavenging. There they talked for some time before deciding to head back to Old Bay. Here her father questioned him and their friendship, but after learning his intention, invited the Worgen to dinner. There they offered him a pair of socks and boots if he would resume his human form for the dinner. William obliged, and stayed for dinner. A Return to Mirstone After returning to his home after the dinner at Lillian's parents' house, the Worgen set to taking care of the loaned boots. Washing and polishing them, the Worgen soon sent word to Lillian for her to come visit him at his cottage to retrieve them. The two spent a considerable amount of time together, drinking tea and chatting about the past. William learned much of Lillian's past and why she was so afraid of Worgen. He sympathized with the young woman, and then offered to accompany her on her return to Mirstone if she wished to face her past and her fears. It took some time, but eventually the young woman agreed that it was best to return. To which William agreed, and told her to go get a horse so they could travel there. After waiting for several minutes, William began to grow concerned that something may have happened to Lillian. But much to his surprise and relief, the young woman appeared over the ridge, seated on a large black horse. William smiled at her, and told her that he was glad to see her again. After speaking for a little bit more, William urged Lillian to show him the way to Mirstone as he followed by air. The two traveled for some time until they came upon the defiled ruins of Mirstone, torn asunder not just by the first Sacking of Mirstone, but by the second as well. William stood, appalled by the amount of death and destruction this village held, fully realizing what Lillian had been through. Expressing his sorrow and sympathy again for what Lillian experienced, the Worgen's words were cut short by the sound of movement within the trees. ] Turning towards the sound, the Worgen growled his challenge to whatever hid within. Soon a golden furred worgen appeared with two others and surrounded the two. After a moment of tense speaking, the golden furred worgen ordered her worgen after Lillian, who'd escaped towards the town after William ordered her to flee. William leaped into action, killing both worgen before facing Ellie Peyton. The two fought for some time, with William tossing the smaller worgen around like a ragdoll in his guardian form before tossing her aside to go after Lillian. Ellie had much the same idea, giving chase to Lillian herself. Managing to get there before William, the female found the house Lillian had taken shelter in and was actively trying to find her. With a growl and a charge, William shoulder checked Ellie into the wall, where Lillian jumped out and shot the female in the head with William's command. Thinking their battle was over, the Worgen stumbled a bit and fell to the ground, his blood loss having affecting him greatly. Lillian rushed to help him, but was soon stopped by the appearance of a much larger, black furred worgen with red eyes. Seeing Ellie's corpse infuriated the Worgen, who offered no parley with William and instead attacked. William attempted to fight back, but was easily cast aside by the Alpha Worgen. Refusing to give up, William continued to assault the Alpha but to no avail. The Alpha grabbed Lillian by the arm and sank his teeth deep into her flesh, subjecting her to the curse of the worgen. William grabbed Lillian and ushered her back to his cottage despite his massive loss of blood in order to save her from going feral. Successfully locating the potion to save Lillian's mind, the druid administers the dosage before Lillian can begin to undergo the transformation. A New Form William had sustained great trauma from his battle with Ellie and the Alpha Worgen, resulting in great blood loss, a majority of which came from his torn and ravaged face. William managed to watch helplessly as Lillian underwent her first transformation into her worgen form, sealing her fate. After a few moments, the druid collapsed and went unresponsive due to massive hemorrhaging and hypovolemic shock. Lillian tried her best to treat the Worgen's critical wounds, managing to stop much of the bleeding and preventing William from getting any worse. The worgen, however, was still in dire shape from the blood he'd already lost. Remaining only responsive to pain, the worgen would remain there until Lillian's father appeared to help them, having tracked Lillian's scent back to William's cottage. Zach provides rescue breaths Zach tears up house House collapses under weight of roots and vines William is cocooned William is healed Relationships * Lillian Smith: Lillian encountered William after mistaking his cottage to be abandoned, a meeting that set a poor impression as Lillian immediately proceeded to accidentally shoot the worgen. However, William remained diplomatic and willing to reason with her. Though Lillian remains wary around him for his worgen condition, she has slowly opened up to the man to expose a more amicable side. She is William's only friend so far. Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Worgen Category:Gilnean Category:Kingdom of Gilneas Category:Gilneas Peerage Category:Old Bay Village Category:Druids Category:Harvest Witches